Having acquired the studio in 2001, Microsoft made the decision to close the studio last year, ensuring that Halo Wars will be the last game to be produced by Ensemble Studios. Speaking in the final post on Ensemble's official blog, Shelley says, "It's hard to believe that the day has finally come when Ensemble Studios closes its doors and we move on to whatever is next. There are at least two new studios being formed by ES employees and I expect both to do very well. There were a lot of outstanding game developers here and it will be interesting to see how and what they do, both individually and as new groups, in the years ahead."
Halo Wars is launching in the UK on February 27, and hitting the US shortly after on March 3.
